Padding for laundries and the like



- 4 N. LEHRMAN 2,225,874

PADDING FOR LAUNDRIES AND THE LIKE Filed April 29, 1939 INVENTOR: jzhdrvflehrmarg BY TMCQCM ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 24,1940

UNITED STATES PATENT "orrica Claims.

This invention relates to padding for flat work ironing and for laundryand garment pressing machinery. The padding for this purpose which isnow and has heretofore been available on the market generallyconsists-of cotton strands or rovings of various thicknesses, thesestrands or rovings in the finished padding being disposed generallyparallel and being held together by knitting or stitching. In someinstances also, the padding has been made by weaving, a multiple planefabric of soft relatively large strands as warp threads with very littletwist, the filling threads being of smaller size and much greater twist.

In the use of padding, whether wrapped on presser rolls or relativelyflat on bucks for flat pressing, the conditions are rigorous. The padsin use are subjected to severe mechanical pressure, which may run up to1500 lbs. At the same time, the temperatures to which the pads aresubjected are high and in many instances a large quantity of moisture ispresent. The conditions of use frequently result in the padding becominghard or soggy or both, within a very short time. The strands or rovingsbecome compacted so that they are much smaller than as originallyprovided. The hard padding which thus results is unsatisfactory aspadding. When the padding arrives at the condition in which the strandsare compacted the binder threads or cords which hold the rovings orcoarse yarns together stand out on the faces of the padding and presenta rough surface which is unsuited for pressing; The stitching or bindingthreads on the face of the padding leave impressions on the fabric orgarment which is being pressed or ironed so that a smooth finish cannotbe obtained. In many instances also upon compaction the strands orrovings tend to separate and leave gaps therebetween which interferewith the proper functioning of the padding.

On modern garment pressing. machinery also, it is now customary toemploy a vacuum pump or other suitable suction equipment for the purposeof drawing, from the garments and the padding, the moisture derived fromthe steam introduced in the head or bottom pressing buck. Padding whichhas become hard, sog y, or in which the strands or rovings haveseparated is not suitable for use with such vacuum systems.

Numerous attempts have heretofore been made to improve the padding forpresser rolls and fiat pressing, but none of the paddings have beenentirely satisfactory. For example, in some instances the strands orrovings have been provided with central cores of resilient material inorder to reduce the compacting effect of the continued application ofpressure at high temperatures and in the presence of moisture. This hasnot, however, obviated the objection arising from the binding threads orcords projecting from the 5 surface and the separation of the strands sothat gaps occur therebetween. In other instances, in order to preventthe opening up or separation of the strands or rovings the strands orrovings have been disposed in a plurality of planes. This also 10 hasnot been entirely satisfactory and the life of the padding is relativelyshort.

Attempts have also heretofore been made to improve the padding which wasavailable by the use of backing materials, such as burlap, but this hasnot prevented the packing down of the strands or rovings, and suchpadding quickly becomes hard or soggy in the same manner as the otherpadding hereinbefore referred to.

In some instances, when the padding after use presents a rough, unevensurface by reason of the stitching or binding threads coming to .thesurface thereof, attempts have been made to use a covering materialinterposed between the padding and the customary outer sheet of duck orthe 2 like. The cost of such intermediate pad covering material isusually high and in many cases equals the cost of the padding itself, sothat the total cost to the user is objectionably high and withoutsuflicient compensating advantages. The use of the additional interposedcovering material does not, in most instances, prevent the padding frombecoming hard and sog y.

In accordance with the present invention an improved type of padding isprovided which has been found in practice to have a longer life, to befree from the objectionable features of becoming hard or soggy in use,which continuously presents a smooth outer surface, which issatisfactory for use on machines provided with vacuum equipment andwhich is relatively simple to construct. With the improved padding, alsothe interposed covering material hereinbefore referred to is renderedunnecessary.

The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be morereadily understood from the following description, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a piece of padding made in accordancewith the present invention, part of the upper surface being removed toshow the internal construction; and

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line 2-2of Fig. 1 and in a direction at right angles to the longitudinal axes ofthe strands or rovings.

' It will, of course, be understood that the description and drawingherein contained are illustrative merely, and that various modificationsand changes may be made in the structure disclosed without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawing the padding of the presentinvention preferably consists of a base or underlying fabric with afacing thereon. The padding is preferably constructed from strands Illconsisting of rovings or yarns of cotton, wool or other suitablematerial, the fibres of which are preferably disposed in substantiallyparallel relationship within the strand for resilience. These strandsmay, if desired, have a resilient interior core of the type well knownin the trade. The strands or rovings are preferably disposedsubstantially parallel and are held in position by binding threads orcords II which may be disposed as knitted loops, by a chain stitch, byinterlacing to form a woven fabric, or otherwise disposed in any mannerfor holding the strands or rovings l0 close together in a fiat position.

After the padding has been initially constructed from the strands orrovings and hinders, the padding is passed across napping or teaselingrolls or is subjected to a brushing or the like operation for thepurpose of raising fibres from the upper faces of the strands or rovingsID. This operation is preferably carried out in a direction at rightangles to the longitudinal axes of the strands or rovings l0 and thefibres thus raised are smoothed out above the strands or rovings l0 andthe binder threads H. The smoothing may be effected by brushing orcombing the raised fibres so that at the surface the fibres are fiat,smooth and are disposed substantially parallel along the surface. Thefibre raising operation may be repeated in the opposite direction, andpreferably also at right angles to the longitudinal axes of the strandsor rovings. If desired and in order to obtain the desired thickness ofthe body of fibres above the rovings If! these operations may berepeated.

By this operation of raising fibres a compact body of fibres I2 israised above the plane of the strands I!) with fibres extending betweenand across two or more strands or rovings l0 and thereinto. The fibresare interlocked and generally parallel and provide a cushion on theupper or outer face of the pad which is resilient vertically andhorizontally and adherent thereto, which assists in holding the strandsin position and which is soft and smooth. The underside or side which isto be disposed adjacent the presser roll or buck is preferably leftunfinished.

If desired the fibres on the face of the padding may be provided thereonin any other desired manner which will provide a body of interlockedfibres disposed at the surface as hereinbefore referred to, ofsufficient depth and adherent to the padding. This may be done by asuitable carding or fibre laying operation with a suitable adhesiveinterposed for securing the fibres in an adherent condition.

It has been found in practice that the padding, constructed as aforesaidand with the soft facing composed of fibres raised from or disposed onone side of the fabric, retains its resilient character for a longerperiod of time, has a decreased tendency for the strands or rovings topack up into hardened strands, has a decreased tendency for the strandsto separate and provide breaks in the padding, and by reason of thesmooth face of substantial thickness avoids the binding threads llcoming to the surface or impressing themselves in any way on the fabricor garment which is being pressed or ironed.

I claim:

1. Padding for pressing and ironing devices comprising a. plurality ofsubstantially parallel relatively thick rovings disposed in a coplanarrelationship, each of said rovings consisting of fibres disposedsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof, binder threadstransversely disposed with respect to said rovings in knitted loops forholding said rovings in position, said binder threads being relativelyhard and which upon exposure on the surface of compacted padding wouldrender the surface rough and uneven, and a smooth fibrous facingextending over the outer surface of the padding, said facing overlyingthe rovings and the binder threads and being composed entirely of fibresintegral with and extending from the rovings, said facing providing aresilient cushion for reducing compaction of the underlying rovingsandpreventing the exposure of the binder threads on the surface of thepadding under the influence of heat and pressure.

2. Padding for pressing and ironing devices comprising a plurality ofsubstantially parallel relatively thick strands, each of said strandsconsisting of fibres disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinalaxis of the strand, binder threads transversely disposed with respect tosaid strands in knitted loops for holding said strands in position, saidbinder threads being relatively hard and which upon exposure would.render the surface rough and uneven upon compaction, and a smoothfibrous facing extending over the outer surface of the padding, saidfacing overlying the strands and the binder threads and being composedentirely of fibres integral with and extending from the strands, saidfacing providing a resilient cushion for reducing compaction andseparation of the underlying strands under the influence of heat andpressure and preventing the exposure of the binder threads on thesurface of the padding, said facing consisting of a body of fibreshaving the fibres on the outer surface thereof disposed substantiallyparallel to each other.

3. Padding for pressing and ironing devices comprising a plurality ofsubstantially parallel relatively soft thick strands disposed in acoplanar relationship, each of said strands consisting of cotton fibresdisposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the strand,binder threads transversely disposed with respect to said strands inknitted loops for holding said strands in position, said binder threadsbeing relatively hard and which upon exposure on the surface of thepadding under compaction would render the surface rough and uneven, anda smooth fibrous facing extending over the outer surface of the padding,said facing overlying the strands and the binder threads, said facingproviding a resilient cushion for reducing compaction and separation ofthe underlying strands under the influence of heat and pressure andpreventing the exposure of the binder threads on the surface of thepadding, said facing consisting entirely of a body of fibres extendingfrom and adherent to said strands and having the fibres on the outersurface thereof disposed substantially parallel to each other and atright angles to the longitudinal disposition of the strands.

4. Padding for pressing and ironing devices comprising a plurality ofsubstantially parallel relatively thick strands disposed in a coplanarrelationship, each of said strands consisting of cotton fibres disposedsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof, binder threadstransversely disposed with respect to said strands in knitted loops forholding said strands in position, said binder threads being relativelyhard and which upon exposure on the surface of compacted padding wouldrender the surface rough and uneven, and a smooth fibrous facingextending over the outer surface of the padding, said facing overlyingthe strands and the binder threads and being composed entirely of a bodyof fibres extending from and adherent to the strands, said facingproviding a resilient cushion for reducing compaction of the underlyingstrands under the influence of heat and pressure and preventing theexposure of the binder threads on the surface of the padding.

5. Padding for pressing and ironing devices comprising a plurality ofsubstantially parallel relatively thick strands, binder threadstransversely disposed with respect to said strands in knitted loops forholding said strands in position, said binder threads being relativelyhard and which upon exposure'would render the surface rough and unevenupon compaction, and a smooth fibrous facing extending over an exposedface of the padding, said facing overlying the strands and the binderthreads and being composed entirely of a body of fibres extending fromand adherent to the strands, said facing providing a resilient cushionfor reducing compaction of the underlying strands under the influence ofheat and pressure and preventing the exposure of the binder threads uponthe surface of the padding.

NATHAN LEHRMAN.

